Trucks in the service industry have a configuration in which a service body is mounted to cab chassis. In prior-art applications, the sevice body is attached rearward of the cab and directly onto the frame of the vehicle. The service body has a specially designed configuration which suits a particular purpose in various service industries.
The recycling of materials is a common activity in most major urban areas. The use of most metals does not destroy them. As commercial products, some metals are found in such large quantities in urban areas that their new concentration may exceed that which existed while they were in the ground. Cities, therefore, may be considered as ore deposits of certain minerals. As present, however, it is cheaper to mine new ores than to recycle used or waste metals, but this economic balance does not take into account the cost of disposing of the metallic waste that accumulates in urban regions. Thus, it is likely that, sometime in the future, many materials now considered as exhaustible, nonrenewable resources will be treated as recyclable resources. Such commonly available metals may be found in food or drink cans that are commonly disposed of at the present. In addition, waste glass and paper can be suitably converted by recycling processes.
In all recycling programs, it is important to keep the glass separate from the metal, the metal separate from the paper, and the paper separate from the glass. If trucks are used for the transportation of recyclable products, then three trucks must be utilized to transport the three different and main types of recyclable materials. If the recycling trucks are used for the gathering of the recyclable materials, then a more difficult management problem arises. The recyclable materials may be loaded in all three forms, into a single bin, and then separated for further recycling transportation. Alternatively, three separate bins must be transported so that the material may be sorted as it is accumulated.
In the management of recycling efforts, it is important to minimize manpower, facilities, and transportation vehicles. It is also important to maximize the ability to load the vehicle and to minimize the efforts to unload the vehicle.
Many pickup truck-style loading vehicles have a relatively high side wall which makes loading difficult for those persons of small stature. A worker must raise the load over the edge of the vehicle storage bin in order to drop the material into the bin.
Another problem that confronts recycling efforts is the inability to maximize the space available for the recycling materials. Typically, the floor of the truck bed will be the lower limit for the ability to receive material. It is desirable to maximize the space available for the reception of recyclable materials.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a truck service body which maximizes the space available for the reception of materials.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a truck service body that increases the ability to quickly unload the materials from the separate material compartments.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a truck service body that provides separate loading bins for the segregation of the three main types of recyclable materials.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a truck service body that increases the ease of manufacture, decreases the cost of manufacture, and simplifies the hydraulic unloading mechanisms.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recycle service body that can be conveniently used by persons of small stature.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.